Wage Peace

Peace is a priority in our home. A peaceful home refreshes and blesses our family. But sometimes, peace doesn’t come without a fight. If I’m serious about “waging peace,” it helps to know my enemy.

I’ve discovered that the quickest way to rob peace is through worry. Anxiety can drain my energy and quench calm faster than just about anything. What’s more, it’s contagious. When the kids were small, if I became worried, they seemed to absorb my anxiety and become fretful.

Worry is also exhausting. I agree with a friend who coined this acronym for

W-O-R-R-Y: Worry Only Robs Rest from You.

Worry says loud and clear that I don’t really trust God. But when I refuse to be anxious, when I trust God and remain peaceful, I create a climate of peace.

I have to confess I grew up as a world-class worrier. There were times early in our marriage when fear held me in its grip. Fear of storms, fear of intruders, fear of illness, fear of flying. You name it—I probably wrestled with it.

But I’ve learned to be ruthless. By standing on the promises in God’s Word, lots of prayer, and putting my faith into action, I have wrestled most of my fears to the ground. I’m not completely worry-free, but I can tell you I no longer feel like a prisoner to fear.

These twin invaders, fear and anxiety, can wreak havoc on a home and a marriage. God doesn’t treat fear and worry as small things. He tells us to “cast all our anxiety on him” because he cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

He commands us to “have no fear.” To “be anxious for nothing” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV). As with any stubborn problem, the first step is to confront anxiety head-on and call it out for the enemy that it is. We may find that our repentance is soon followed by times of refreshing and revival. And a peace that passes all understanding!